Once again, the Burr Ridge Village Center opened its green space to music, games and food — lots and lots of food with a big side of classic car show on the side.
More Top Picks Best Pasta Maker
Still in its early years, the third-annual Taste of Burr Ridge event offered tastes from a variety of cuisines from the town’s top restaurants — aside from Tone Capone’s Tacos, which is out of Evergreen Park. But first, the longtime local favorite, the annual Burr Ridge Car Show kicked things off Saturday morning.
The show was relocated to the Village Center a few years ago, but the move hasn’t seemed to diminish fan interest in the classic vehicles on display and it certainly hasn’t seemed to dampen any interest from classic car owners — some of whom make this show one of their must-attend shows in a season dominated by suburban car shows.
One of those owners, Burr Ridge’s own Eliza Elia, who brought her tomato red 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air to the show, said she’d probably miss the Muscle Car and Chevrolet Nationals show in Rosemont next month. The show is in Rosemont and it’s bigger and she’s shown there in the past — and won in the women’s division — but Elia said she likes the Burr Ridge event better. For one thing, it’s a smaller, more community-oriented event and it’s closer to home.
And anyway, the car is more than a showpiece. For Elia, it’s a fond memory of her father who, for most of his life, had wanted a Bel Air but couldn’t buy one.
“He always wanted one,” she said. “But growing up, he came from a big family, so growing up they had station wagons or trucks to carry everyone.”
Then, as a young adult, he, too, had a big family so he settled for more practical transportation. But he never forgot the dream.
Finally, in 1995, he got the car and, for eight years he worked on it and kept it running and kept it looking sharp. But then he died in 2003, and since then his daughter, Elia, has kept it in circulation on the car show circuit — and in the garage, away from harm.
While the day was bright and the sky blue, the morning kicked off with a blast of cooler air — the first big front to hit the area — but by the afternoon, crowds had picked up and, by 3 that afternoon, the car show wrapping up, the food tents began seeing crowds line up, despite the chill.
Most of the vendors offered chilled drinks — wine, beer, margaritas and other mixed drinks — but Khair Zayed, owner of Olive Tree Mediterranean Cuisine got an idea for an off-menu treat.
“This is from my house,” Zayed said, giving away steaming cups of Middle Eastern coffee to anyone who wanted to warm up.
Some hungry folks wandered over from the show, a parking lot away, but the event also attracted its share of first-time out-of-town visitors, still new to the idea of the Taste of Burr Ridge.
“We came for the Taste of Burr Ridge,” said Ryann Casak, who was with her three-year-old, Brooke. The duo drove in, not knowing what to expect.
“We just came in to eat some good food and see if there was anything fun for kids,” she said.
As it turned out, there was both. Brooke collected a fistful of stickers and prizes from the Bel Canto Music Academy and the possibility of winning a month of free music classes and a fanciful face painting, while Ryann looked toward the food tents, lining up with visitors.
Stix & Stones pizza — an always popular fire-baked pizza shop — wheeled cheese pies from their store around the corner and had trouble keeping up with demand, but perhaps the most visually impressive display was from Wok N Fire, an local Asian chain with an emphasis on sushi, though on Saturday the centerpiece were remnants of the plate — a massive head and tail of a bluefin tuna packed in ice and on display for gawking visitors and cellphone cameras.
Vice President Dana Scalione was on hand to tell the story and serve up rolls of the fresh fish. The tuna, she said, was caught off Ensenada, on the Pacific side of Mexico and flown in that day. Scalione said the restaurant had leapt at the chance to buy the 250 pound fish.
Scalione was accompanied by two Burr Ridge sushi chefs and she said they put on a show that morning for the early birds.
“We had a whole presentation of our sushi cutting,” she said.
She added the restaurant offers these things regularly, if anyone missed it Saturday, though they’re not always at the same location. The next scheduled demonstration is at their St. Charles location the evening of Oct. 21.
Though the restaurant is a small chain, they’ve maintained a popular spot in Burr Ridge and Wok N Fire has been a part of the Taste event since its inception. Scalione said it’s a way to give a bit back.
“We definitely love to support the community that supports us,” she said. “And you meet new people who haven’t been with us.”
More Top Picks Best Electric Meat Slicers For Home
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.